


Just Stop

by GuiltyRed



Category: Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children
Genre: Angst, Comfort, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-12-27
Updated: 2009-12-27
Packaged: 2017-10-05 08:15:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 435
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/39605
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GuiltyRed/pseuds/GuiltyRed
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>While Sephiroth is busy fighting Cloud, Kadaj has an unexpected revelation.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Just Stop

**Author's Note:**

> **Title:** Just Stop  
> **Author:** GuiltyRed**  
> Rating:** PG  
> **Warnings:** none  
> **Word count:** 435  
> **Summary:** While Sephiroth is busy fighting Cloud, Kadaj has an unexpected revelation.  
> **Prompt:** Sephiroth/Kadaj: angst and comfort – "Mother loves you best!"  
> **A/N:** I'd always wondered why, at the end, Sephiroth just hovered there and accepted Cloud's attack. Perhaps this is why.  
> ****

And he is here, and he is everything I have dreamed of.

Everything I am not.

I can feel his muscles move as he fights. He is liquid like Yazuu, solid like Loz, and his sword sings for him as mine once did for me. He is beautiful.

And I hate him.

"This isn't how it was supposed to be."

The voice is inside me, like Mother, but this one speaks words I can easily understand.

There's another boy inside my head. He looks like me, only a little taller and – no, he looks like Yazuu, but with my sadness – no, Loz' sadness.

My eyes.

He shakes his head, long hair splashing about his shoulders, and his eyes show only loss. "I only wanted…"

Time spins around me, making me dizzy. The battle is raging around us, but here inside my mind all is still. "Who are you?" I hear myself asking, though I have a pretty good idea of the answer.

"I? I am no one. Not anymore."

Rage fills me and I shout at him, I scream at him with all the frustration and pain and uncertainty that have been my fuel these past two years. "You're only her _favorite_! She gave everything for you, even me! I'm not even a ghost of you, and you dare steal my emptiness? You bastard! I hope you _die_!"

He doesn't react to my words except to tilt his head in a too-familiar gesture. "She took everything from me before you even came into existence," he whispers, "before I even took my first breath. I can't take your emptiness, because _you_ are _my_ emptiness." He holds out his hands to me, his expression unreadable. "Kadaj, I have only one thing to ask of you now, and you have the power to refuse me."

I glare at him, not trusting this. "What?"

"Can any of us protect the planet from those who would torment her?" He smiles sadly and again shakes his head. "All your life, all _my_ life, has led to this moment. Kadaj, do you want this to end?"

Outside, Sephiroth has reached his darkest moment: his enemy is helpless, yet even that is not enough to slake the bloodlust in his heart. He is hate and despair and madness, while inside his humanity asks for my help. I can see all this as clearly as if it were painted in light, and I take hold of his hands. "It's time to stop now," I whisper. "Mother has what she wanted, but she's still not happy. What do I have to do?"

"Just stop moving."


End file.
